HDPE Panel/Liquid Rubber/Plywood 240 Gallon DIY Aquarium Build
- Thread starter BearFish
- Start date
Thanks Dan. 
I painted the stand with DryLok waterproofing, and have been very happy with the results. It was like painting on sand, but the paint hardened to almost a ceramic feel to it. The stand is nicely waterproofed now. I was a little concerned about putting DryLok on wood as the manufacture said it would not work on wood. But, I think it will work on any rough surface. So, don't try it on sanded wood, but a 2x4 should be OK. Also, if the wood bends you will probably have troubles with the paint cracking and crumbling off.
Next, I need the make the top braces to keep the tank from bowing out. I put three 6" top braces equally spaced apart (~19") at the top opening. I wanted these wood supports to be waterproof, and the look the same as the tank. So, time to attach the HDPE panels to it. I tried plastic welding them together, but this work horrible. I can make decent interior weld, but exterior welds just push the plastic apart. Pushing the plastic together is very important in plastic welding.
I went back to Blue Ames Max, and this worked really good as an adhesive. I don't think it would be structural, but this is plenty strong to hold the HDPE panel to the wood. We will see how well it holds up with time and moisture. The following picture does a good job of showing you how I maid them.
And, here is the finish top braces. I need to put the bulkheads in, and test to see if it holds water.
I painted the stand with DryLok waterproofing, and have been very happy with the results. It was like painting on sand, but the paint hardened to almost a ceramic feel to it. The stand is nicely waterproofed now. I was a little concerned about putting DryLok on wood as the manufacture said it would not work on wood. But, I think it will work on any rough surface. So, don't try it on sanded wood, but a 2x4 should be OK. Also, if the wood bends you will probably have troubles with the paint cracking and crumbling off.Next, I need the make the top braces to keep the tank from bowing out. I put three 6" top braces equally spaced apart (~19") at the top opening. I wanted these wood supports to be waterproof, and the look the same as the tank. So, time to attach the HDPE panels to it. I tried plastic welding them together, but this work horrible. I can make decent interior weld, but exterior welds just push the plastic apart. Pushing the plastic together is very important in plastic welding.
I went back to Blue Ames Max, and this worked really good as an adhesive. I don't think it would be structural, but this is plenty strong to hold the HDPE panel to the wood. We will see how well it holds up with time and moisture. The following picture does a good job of showing you how I maid them.
And, here is the finish top braces. I need to put the bulkheads in, and test to see if it holds water.
Success!!!! It holds all 240 Gallons!!! 
I had some water dripping from the bulkheads, but a quick tightening of the nut stopped the leak. I also had some leaks that occurred between the plastic and the liquid rubber at the windows seals on both bottom sides. This leak was bubbling out very slow and under no pressure. I put some supper glue where it was coming out, and that stopped the water leak. Not a big fan of having water between the HDPE Panel and liquid rubber, so I will put some more butyl caulking on the inside when I drain the water from the tank.
Looks like water puts more pressure on the window than my glass window bar insert, because the butyl caulking is creeping out. I used way to much caulking!
Here it is full of water with no leaks!
I had some water dripping from the bulkheads, but a quick tightening of the nut stopped the leak. I also had some leaks that occurred between the plastic and the liquid rubber at the windows seals on both bottom sides. This leak was bubbling out very slow and under no pressure. I put some supper glue where it was coming out, and that stopped the water leak. Not a big fan of having water between the HDPE Panel and liquid rubber, so I will put some more butyl caulking on the inside when I drain the water from the tank.
Looks like water puts more pressure on the window than my glass window bar insert, because the butyl caulking is creeping out. I used way to much caulking!
Here it is full of water with no leaks!
If still looking for idea's to strengthen support for corners and bottom edges, check about half way done this link for my build.
I took steel cladding that goes around the wood framing of a garage door, had to cut one side off it to get the 90% pieces and then liquid rubber them bottom of tank, sides and top. It creates a very square and strong corner joining the various pieces of plywood with continuous, wide glued contact areas that hold things tight.
Plus covers up all the plywood edges and screw holes.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?471151-3yrs-and-finally-300G-full
I took steel cladding that goes around the wood framing of a garage door, had to cut one side off it to get the 90% pieces and then liquid rubber them bottom of tank, sides and top. It creates a very square and strong corner joining the various pieces of plywood with continuous, wide glued contact areas that hold things tight.
Plus covers up all the plywood edges and screw holes.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?471151-3yrs-and-finally-300G-full
Thanks MFK2009. You have a very nice tank. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but that is a very good idea. The tank seems to be holding fine and by my calculations I have a safety factor of about ~4.5, but if the wood gets wet... Well, it would be better to have metal.
Working on my second tank. It will be 86" long x 11" high x 24" wide for a little under 100 gallons. This tank will be under my 240 gallon tank.
I paid 20$ for a 20 gallon glass aquarium tank which I took apart for usage later. It was actually more difficult than I thought it would be to disassemble and clean it up.
I added more support to the sides by putting 2x4s in place.
Than I painted the 2x4s with Drylok like the rest of the stand.
I used GE 100% for plastics to silicone the panels in place and all the joints.
The tank is shown below half full with yellow duckies swimming. I will check it for leaks tomorrow, and if none are found I will fill it up the rest of the way.
Time to start on the sump!
I paid 20$ for a 20 gallon glass aquarium tank which I took apart for usage later. It was actually more difficult than I thought it would be to disassemble and clean it up.
I added more support to the sides by putting 2x4s in place.
Than I painted the 2x4s with Drylok like the rest of the stand.
I used GE 100% for plastics to silicone the panels in place and all the joints.
The tank is shown below half full with yellow duckies swimming.
I will check it for leaks tomorrow, and if none are found I will fill it up the rest of the way.Time to start on the sump!
Building the 100 Gallon sump now. Using 100% silicone for plastic/HDPE Panel/Plywood to make it. I have left over materials including a 3/8" thick glass. So, just like the big aquarium, coated it with Ames Blue-Max liquid rubber. This stuff goes on very thin, so expect to put a lot of coatings on it.
I put the HDPE Panel in and clamp everything in place. Use the 100% silicone for plastic around the seams.
I coated the exterior with Drylok.
I put the HDPE Panel in and clamp everything in place. Use the 100% silicone for plastic around the seams.
I coated the exterior with Drylok.
The middle tank is a build-in. Here is a picture from the side.
The middle tank made out of HDPE Panel with 100% silicone for Plastic, and it is holding a tight seal. The two other tanks I've had trouble with the bulkheads (tightening) deforming the plastic enough the caulking looses the tight seal. It ends up leaking at a slow rate. For example, I will go to bed with no leak, then wake up in the morning with a bead of water at the plastic/rubber interface. I've already coated the top tank joints with Ames blue-max and this problem should go away, while making the tank more safer (seals in the caulking that has not been verified as fish safe). I still need to let the bottom tank dry out, before I reseal it.
The shelf system to the left is my wet/dry filtration system I plan on using
. When I get more time I'll do a write-up in the "DIY filtration" section on it.
The middle tank made out of HDPE Panel with 100% silicone for Plastic, and it is holding a tight seal. The two other tanks I've had trouble with the bulkheads (tightening) deforming the plastic enough the caulking looses the tight seal. It ends up leaking at a slow rate. For example, I will go to bed with no leak, then wake up in the morning with a bead of water at the plastic/rubber interface. I've already coated the top tank joints with Ames blue-max and this problem should go away, while making the tank more safer (seals in the caulking that has not been verified as fish safe). I still need to let the bottom tank dry out, before I reseal it.
The shelf system to the left is my wet/dry filtration system I plan on using
